The Edmonton Oilers first pre-season game of 2024-25 is today.
While the prospects tournament and the first few ice sessions certainly signal that hockey is back, when the puck drops today…jobs will be on the line. And it will get real, real fast.
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. Connor McDavid and Len Draisaitl both attended the Edmonton Elks game at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday. Even the biggest stars are still usually sports fans like the rest of us.
8.The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation has now invested $100m back into the city and its citizens since it was created in 2001. Not only is the hockey club central to this city’s image and reputation. It sows back into this town what it harvests.
7. If you watch enough training camps you soon come to understand that the early going often lacks context. The quality of competition is watered down with so many bodies in camp and that goes for all NHL teams. Plus, the veterans are not quite in high gear yet. Players that star in Game #1 can fade by Game #8.
6. While there were certainly some bright spots to enjoy in this year’s Edmonton Oilers Young Stars tournament, the price of success in this organization is obvious. The pool of talent is never as deep after you move prospects at the deadline in order to move the needle in the playoffs. More on Oilers R&D in a moment.
5. A late addition to Oilers training camp is Jasper Weatherby. A product of the San Jose system, the big (6’4, 222 LB) left-shot center was playing for the Nashville organization last year in Milwaukee of the AHL. Added after the news of Evander Kane’s surgery, I view him as AHL/organizational depth.
4. Also in camp on a PTO is Mike Hoffman. He is a different case from Weatherby, in that Hoffman has had a productive NHL career (745 regular season games, 228 goals scored in those). He knows where the net is. But Hoffman is also coming thirty-five this Fall and his 5v5 numbers have not great the last few seasons. But worth a look in camp as a Bottom-6 option? Absolutely.
3. There is much discussion surrounding the Oilers blueline heading into 2024-25 and rightly so. But a name that I find does not come up that much in discussion is free agent signing Josh Brown. Brown inked a 3-year deal. That is a bit of a tell. The Oilers did not give him that term without believing he can help the big club on a consistent basis. No, I do not think Brown is a serious contender for the 2RD job. He is more of a 6-7 guy. But I have said all along that it is more likely the Oilers will permanently fill that slot at or closer to the deadline.
2. A few Edmonton radio notes to pass along. First, Bob Stauffer’s influential show Oilers Now is shifting it’s time slot to M-F 4-6pm. Among his many returning guests will be new addition Pierre LeBrun of TSN. Second, Brenden Escott is taking over the Inside Sports program hosted capably for so many years by Reid Wilkins. It will run M-F 6-8pm. Third, veteran broadcaster Bryn Griffiths will now be managing the Edmonton Oilers pre- and post-game duties. That is a big, damn job and Griffiths has the intelligence, professionalism, and passion to get it done well. Congratulations all around.
1. It is abundantly clear that the Edmonton Oilers organization has certainly turned a page since the departure of Ken Holland. Head Office is evolving. Now, as I have written in this space in the past, Holland did a lot of good things for this organization at a critical time and ultimately helped guide them to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. But in the weeks and (now) months since Holland stepped away, Jeff Jackson has been busy putting his own stamp on the organization. First, it was the hiring of Stan Bowman as the new General Manager. And now that is also showing up in two specific areas: Development and Analytics.
Edmonton took a key step last year when they hired Michael Parkatti as Senior Director of Data and Analytics. Now, they have also brought in Dominik Zrim as Director of Hockey Strategy. Zrim helped create the famous Cap Friendly site. The franchise is moving toward not only using every method available to acquire the best players available. But just as importantly, the Oilers are building an organizational structure to help put those players in the best spots possible for success once they are in the fold and developing. And that includes data points that enhance both assessment and coaching.
And on the scouting front, there is another major change. Warren Rychel has been promoted to Director of Pro Scouting. He replaces Brad Holland after Holland, and the Oilers mutually agreed to part ways. Now, to the younger Holland’s credit, he did bring a passion for analytics to the position. The Oilers may have been even further behind in this respect without him. But it will now fall to Rychel and the expanding scouting team (including Zach Kassian, also hired in this capacity) to interpret the data recently beefed-up analytics department hands them. Numbers to match and enhance the old eye test.
In the best hockey league in the world, precious little separates top teams from one another. The margins are so slight. Any subtle advantage you can gain may make the difference between winning it all…or just missing out and having to start that long climb toward the top all over again. Just like the Edmonton Oilers are having to do this Fall. And remember…none of these organizational changes count toward the cap.
As a result, having Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman on the job in Edmonton as “the fixer” and “the closer,” respectively, promises to be vital difference makers in the Oilers quest for the cup.
Now on Threads @kleavins. Also, find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at [email protected]. This article is not AI generated.
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